The Braves used their first pick to target their No. 1 priority in this draft – acquiring left-handed pitching.
The Braves selected left-hander Sean Gilmartin out of Florida State with the 28th overall pick in the Major League Baseball draft Monday night.
Gilmartin is only the third college player the Braves have taken with their first pick since 1992 after Joey Devine (2005) and Mike Minor (2009). But scouting director Tony DeMacio said he was chosen as the best available player, not necessarily because he was closer to being major-league ready.
“We thought he was the next best player for us, pitcher or player and that’s why we took him,” DeMacio said. “We liked the fact he wins, and the fact that he can pitch. Some of the other pitchers that we liked were gone. He was the next guy, the guy we wanted, so we took him.”
Gilmartin, 6-2, 195 pounds, is from Moorpark, Calif. He was named first team All-ACC for Florida State and has spent the past two years as the Seminoles No. 1 starter. He pitched for the Seminoles in the College World Series last year, for Team USA this past summer, and helped the Seminoles advance in an NCAA regional against Alabama last weekend.
He commands a fastball 88-91 mph and has what scouts consider a plus change-up. That combination along with his mound presence draw comparisons to Minor, the Braves’ seventh overall pick two years ago.
Gilmartin has said he grew up in Southern California idolizing former Brave Tom Glavine and Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. The man who signed Glavine for the Braves in 1984 – DeMacio – can see some similarities.
“He’s a stylish-type lefty,” DeMacio said. “He pitches in that same type of mold as those two guys. He has enough fastball; he has really more fastball than people think he has. He has the pitchability that Tommy ended up with as a major league player.”
By pitchability, DeMacio was referring to his command and his approach to hitters.
“He commands the fastball especially, and he knows how to pitch,” DeMacio said. “He’s got great confidence in his stuff. He trusts everything that he throws. That’s what we like about him as well.”
Gilmartin went 12-1 with a 1.83 ERA this season to tie for the ACC-lead in wins. He struck out 122 batters and walked only 20 in 113 1/3 innings. He struck out 11 hitters on four separate occasions this season, including a career-high 13 in eight innings against Duke on April 22.
The Braves made Gilmartin the 18th pitcher taken in the first 28 picks of the draft.
Gilmartin becomes the third left-handed pitcher the Braves have chosen with their first pick in their past four drafts. They took Minor out of Vanderbilt in 2009 and Brett DeVall with the 40th overall pick in the 2008 draft.
Minor is one of their prized prospects who is poised to make his second start filling in for the injured Brandon Beachy Saturday in Houston. DeVall was released by the Braves at the end of spring training this year after elbow problems stalled his progress.
The draft resumes Tuesday at noon starting with the second round. The Braves pick 85th overall in the second round and 115th in the third round.
